


Narry Ever After: The Wedding

by KirryLovesNarry



Series: Narry Ever After [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 8 days to plan a wedding for 2 pop stars, M/M, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-24 07:42:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8363731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KirryLovesNarry/pseuds/KirryLovesNarry
Summary: The requested part 2 of Narry Ever After --- they have 8 days to plan the happiest day of their lives... that's not stressful, right?





	1. 8 days

Bobby asks, “is that an engagement ring?” staring intently at Harry’s hand on his knee.

Harry’s eyebrows shoot up as he realizes he hadn’t been hiding his hand away and looks at Niall for an answer.

Niall just opens his mouth in a giant smile and says, “it is.”

“Well, come here then!” Bobby yells enthusiastically, throwing his arms open to both men.

Harry’s smiling shyly and he rushes to Bobby’s bedside, shoving his face into his future father-in-law’s shoulder. “You knew?” he asks softly.

“Oh, not only did I know _son_ , but I encouraged it to be sooner rather than later! You don’t think Niall would have left this hospital without my blessing, do you?”

Harry chuckles, still with his face muffled, and says, “well, thank you for that then. And thank you for not dying while he did it. I feel like it wouldn’t have been such a happy thing.”

“It would have been happy either way. My death might have put a damper on the celebration, but at least he’d have you to get him through it. Not that he wouldn’t have anyway, but just, you know, it’s more clear this way.” Bobby tightens his arms around Harry for a second before letting go with a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry, morbid, anyway, when’s the wedding?”

Niall jumps up from his seat and rushes over to say, “we haven’t really talked about that. Uh, actually, maybe, Harry, can we, um, talk for a minute?” Niall asks nervously.

Harry’s frowning as he looks between Bobby and Niall but nods his agreement and walks out the door without a word. “What am I missing here, Ni?” Harry asks concerned once they’re a few feet from Bobby’s room.

Niall clears his throat and rubs his hand over the back of his neck as he says, “well, you see, Bobby was kind of hoping that we’d, well, that we’d rush the marriage a bit. Like have it here. Like, now.”

“Oh,” Harry responds quietly. Niall can see in Harry’s eyes a little disappointment at not having a big wedding. “So, like, here in the hospital so he can come?”

“No!” Niall exclaims quickly. “I mean, here as in Ireland, Mullingar area.” Niall pauses and then adds, “in the next, like, week or so. I mean, we can find out when he’ll be released and after that, but before we leave.” Niall bites his lip and then rushes out, “I’m sorry. I didn’t actually agree to that part I just, that’s what he’s requested. He wants us to get married quick because he thinks if we don’t, that it may end up like Zayn and Perrie where we’re engaged for two years and then.. well, maybe not exactly like Zayn and Perrie. He just doesn’t want us putting it off for our careers. Thinks that maybe we’d be better off being married while we go through all this solo stuff. You know? But we don’t have to Harry. It’s not like a make it or break it thing, you know?” Niall moves closer to Harry, pulling their hips together, leaning his forehead on Harry’s temple as he nervously waits for his fiance’s response.

“OK,” he answers. “That’s fine. We can do that,” Harry says while nodding succinctly. He looks like he’s planning it out already, the venue, the invitations, the suits, the table settings even. He looks up concerned as something dawns on him, “we can do like a real wedding though right? Like not a city hall thing? Invite our families?”

Niall finds his smile and breathes a sigh of relief that Harry is really on board. “Yes, anything you want babe. Chocolate fountains, doves, we can fly the world in if you want. Literally, _any_ thing you want pet. I’ll work my arse off to make sure it’s everything you want.”

* * *

 

Harry’s biting his lip with a small, secretive smile before saying, “you’re all I need, Ni. I’d have the ceremony here in this hospital as long as we end up married.”

Niall’s laughing through his words when he says, “love, that won’t be necessary. Do you want to hire someone to help us out?”

“Us? You really going to help me?” Harry asks raising his eyebrows skeptically.

“Of course I’m going to help you! Do you want me to hire someone? Doing it this quickly, we could probably use someone with a list of things that need to be done already.”

“Yeah, yeah, we can hire someone. I’ll take care of it. You stay with your dad a bit longer. Do you mind if I go do that now? Can you also find out when you’re dad will get released so we can figure out the date?” Harry’s eyes are a bit wild as he’s thinking of everything he’ll need to do.

“Yes, pet. I’ll find out the date he’ll be released, spend a little time with him and then come meet you, OK? I know this is a lot of work and I _promise_  I’ll help.”

“Thanks, Ni. Can you give my love to your family and I’ll meet you back at Bobby’s in a bit? I need to get on the computer and start doing some research. If you have ideas for where we can have it, I think that would be better than me trying to figure out this town on my own.”

Harry immediately went back to Bobby’s house, pulled out his laptop and started doing wedding research. After pulling up wedding to-do lists, he realizes he needs to tell his family. He pulls out his phone and calls his mother first.

“Mum?” Harry asks when she answers, “can we conference call Gems? I want to tell you both something.”

Once he has them both on the line, he starts off by saying, “everything is fine. I just wanted to have you both together so I wouldn’t have to make more phone calls and listen to you both separately honestly.” Harry took a deep breath and then told them, ”Niall asked me to marry him and we’re getting married in the next two weeks in Ireland. I don’t have a date yet but obviously I need you both here. Can you be here? The sooner, the better honestly. I’m going to need a lot of help to get this done quickly.” All Harry could hear on the other end was screams from his sister and his mother asking a thousand questions he couldn’t understand because of their speed and excitement. “OK, OK, hold on, I’ll tell you everything when you get here. I just, can I please book you flights? Again, like, _now_?”

Both women agreed to go to Ireland in the next few days but had obligations to wrap up before they could get on that plane for up to two weeks. They would clear their schedules and get back to Harry so he could book their tickets.

*********************************

“HARRY!” Niall yells as he enters his father’s house. “HARRY WHERE ARE YOU!?”

“YOUR ROOM NI!” Harry yells back. 

When Niall walks into the room he finds Harry sitting on the floor surrounded by papers, both his own notes and papers he’d clearly printed and he was staring intently at his laptop. Niall can’t help but laugh at the sight. “Baby, you good?” Harry nods without really listening to Niall. “Harry, Harry, HARRY!” 

Harry finally looks up as Niall screams his name, almost surprised to see him. “What?”

Niall sighs and shakes his head. “I have a problem and I need your wedding expertise.”

“I’m no expert on weddings Ni. Not yet anyway.” Harry has turned back to his laptop, clearly only half paying attention to his fiance.

Niall carefully steps through the paperwork, nudging some aside with his toe so he can make a spot for himself next to Harry. “Harry, really, I have a problem.”

“What is it Ni?”

“Can you look at me please?”

“Too busy to look at you love. My ears are on the side of my head. I can hear you. Go on. What’s your problem?”

Niall is shaking his head and groaning internally but is suddenly happy their engagement will only be two weeks. He doesn’t need a year of groomzilla. “My best man. Greg’s going to want to be my best man but I want Deo. Or Willie. No, Deo. Well, maybe Willie. _I don’t know_. But I don’t want it to be Greg. But he’ll _expect_  it. Just cause he’s my brother and I was _his_  best man. Please tell me I don’t have to make him mine.” Niall is whining by the end. Harry finally looks up to Niall with an amused face. “It’s not funny!”

“I know it’s not love,” Harry reassures. “It’s _our_ wedding and it’s about _us_ , right?”

“OK, yes, you’re right. It’s about _us_  so I can have anyone I want as a best man!” Niall nods with a small smile on his face, appreciating Harry’s answer.

“Nope, you have to choose Greg,” Harry declares.

Niall’s eyes expand and he squawks, “what?! But you _just_  said..”

“I said it’s about _us_  and if you don’t choose Greg, he’ll make it about him. So you have to choose him so we don’t have to listen to his snide comments for the rest of our lives. Please for the love of everything, just suck it up and choose him. Deo and Willie will understand.” Harry looks like he feels bad about his answer, but he also looks resolute that it’s the only one.

“Who are _you_  choosing?” Niall asks petulantly.

“Gemma.”

“Of _course_  you are. That’d make it even worse if I don’t choose him.”

“Yep. But really, who else would I choose?”

“I mean, Matty would work out really well for _me_  but I guess that doesn’t really make sense for you.” Niall’s eyes are dancing with the mischievousness Harry loves.

“Yeah, I’m not picking Matt. I’m picking Gemma. Sorry,” he says, clearly not sorry.

“You’re a jerk,” Niall says without bite.

Harry agrees with a nod, “I know.”

“Fine. I guess Deo and Willie can be groomsmen then,” Niall sighs.

Harry is biting his lip now. “Um, I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t have any extra people in the bridal party. Wait, is it still called a bridal party if there is no bride?” Harry’s now furiously typing on his laptop to get the answer to his question.

Niall doesn’t care about the answer and asks, “wait, why can’t we have groomsmen?”

“Oh, wedding party, that makes sense,” Harry mumbles. He shakes his head and remembers Niall asked a question. “Oh, um, well, it’s just I’m not sure who else I’d pick. Especially since it’s last minute and all. Like there’s no time to plan ahead for someone to get a suit and all that. Your family, and most of your friends, are here in Ireland or a couple hours away in London but most of my closest friends these days are 6000 miles away. Just doesn’t feel fair to make them do the extra bits required of a groomsman.”

Niall settles his weight back on his hands and narrows his eyes at the laptop as he thinks about Harry’s concern. “What about Jeff? He’d drop anything for you and he’s definitely the person you’re closest to outside our families. He’s like a second - third - well, no second works now, family for you. He usually follows you around like a lost puppy so I’m sure he’d love to get an invite here to help out.”

Harry screws up his face and answers with a shrug, ignoring Niall’s comments about Jeff, “I guess. It’s just with me leaving LA so quickly when we had so much going on he’s probably taking on extra meetings trying to reassure people and stuff. I’m sure he’s already stressed. And, let’s say I _do_  ask him. Who else? I’d say Liam, but then Louis would get mad. I’d say Nick but, I don’t know. Just feels like a bit of a close position. I mean, we’re good friends and I’ll invite him to the wedding but it’s just, you know?” Harry isn’t being very clear but Niall nods and pats his back, understanding his worry. 

“Man, if this detail is so hard, how are we going to do all this?” Niall asks glumly looking at all the paperwork around him. He picks up a long checklist and scans it to see ‘guest list, invitations, suits, cake, catering, venue, tables, flowers, photography, videography, music’ and immediately feels sick to his stomach. “Did you get a planner?” he asks hopefully.

“Yeah, I mean, I spoke to someone and she’s coming by in a couple hours. I told her how rushed we were and I think I stressed her out just with the call, so I’m worried. Did you get a date when your dad will be released?”

“Sort of. They said it depends on how he’s doing so they can’t be sure but they expected five more days. So maybe we can say 7 or 8 days? That leaves us a little time to have a mini honeymoon before going back to our real lives?”

“8 days?” Harry deadpans. “8 days to plan a wedding.” Harry can feel his heart rate spike at the thought but nods, resolving that it can be done. “OK, OK, we’ll be fine. We can do this. We have help. We’ll do this. My mum and Gemma will be here in two or three days and they’ll chip in. I can count on Maura too, right? And Greg once you tell him he’s best man? Can you get Deo and Willie here ASAP so they can help? I’ll call Jeff. And Matty and everyone else in my family. Oh, and Des. Crap, I need to call my dad. I can’t believe I forgot to call him! Have you even told Deo and Willie?”

Niall starts laughing at Harry’s rambling and then shakes his head no. “Sure haven’t. Been a bit busy, haven’t I? I will, I will. I’ll go call them now and tell them they have to get their butts here ASAP to help but won’t be _in_  my wedding. Yeah, that sounds fun.”

Harry frowns and his shoulders sag at Niall’s words. He knows it isn’t fair to ask Niall to leave his cousins and best friends out. “I mean, we don’t have to have the same number of groomsmen, right? I can have Gemma and Jeff and you can have Greg, Deo, and Willie. I mean, it’s our wedding, we can do what we want.”

Niall kisses Harry’s forehead and says, “I’ll tell them about the wedding and then we’ll see what happens, OK? Maybe I’ll do ‘Friends’ style and make them fight it out!” Harry rolls his eyes and kisses Niall’s cheek and goes back to typing on his laptop.

The wedding planner was _thrilled_  to plan their wedding and _terrified_  of how quickly they wanted to put it together. If it would have been a local couple wanting twenty people to attend, she wouldn’t have been too concerned but these were pop stars hoping for fifty or so guests. In eight days. This could make or break her career. 

“First, we need to pick a venue. Have you thought about locations yet?” their planner Jennifer asks.

Niall nods, “actually, seriously simple. We don’t want to have to book something and worry about dates that it’s free so I was thinking of the big park up the street with the playground and the football field. Would that be possible? Just get a couple of tents up there?”

“The place we got engaged?” Harry asks. Niall confirmed with another nod and a smile at the memory. He puts his arm around Harry and rubs his thumb into his side.

“OK, although that seems really simple, getting the tents and floors and all that setup is not so simple. I mean, we can _absolutely_ , do it,” Jennifer stressed, wanting to do anything to please her clients, but nervous about the setup.

“So, you don’t think that’s a good idea?” Niall asks, a little let down.

“No! No! I think it’s great! Especially since you said that’s where you got engaged. Very romantic. I’m just saying that there may be some additional items that need to be arranged having it there. With a venue that already has a hall, they have a roof and floors built in,” Jennifer says, not meaning to be cheeky, but realizing she was, blushed with wide eyes. She rushed on, “but we can do it. I promise you, we’ll do it if that’s what you want.”

“What do you think pet?” Niall asks his fiance. “I didn’t want to make this harder so we can get a venue, I just don’t want us to spend a ton of time asking about places and have them be booked up.”

“If you’re willing to spend a little bit more, I’m sure any place you want would be free,” Jennifer adds.

Harry frowned at her suggestion. “We’re not going to kick someone else out of their booked space for our wedding. I like the tent idea. Yeah, it might be a bit more work but romantic and no need to kick anyone out. It’s not exactly football season, so no one should be playing there.”

“That’s a good point,” Jennifer says. “We should probably get some heaters too, speaking of the time of year.” She starts making a list of things that would be needed for the venue, including a permit, something she wasn’t going to mention unless it became an issue.

It turns out there were no issues getting a permit and no games or practices were booked for the field, so they went forward with their venue and date in place. Seven days to go.

“Babe, what is worrying you the most?” Niall asks his fiance, currently bent over the dining room table, scribbling furiously in a notebook with a laptop setup in front of him.

“Guests. We need to get them here. So that means making a list, then contacting them. We can’t just send out invitations obviously. Then we’ll need to help some of them with travel.” Harry looked like he was going to pull his hair out. His eyes were as wide and wild as Niall had ever seen them.

“OK, pet. How about this? If you help me figure out who we want, I will take care of the rest for the guests. We don’t need to do a seating arrangement, do we?”

Harry shook his head furiously, “least of my worries.” He looked up at Niall realizing what he’d just offered and jumped out of his seat to wrap up Niall in a suffocating hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I made a list of who I want. Here,” Harry tears a paper out of his notebook and shoves it into Niall’s chest. “You can figure out the rest. Let me know if you need help. I need to work on the catering and flowers so we make sure they have enough food and flowers for us. I guess flowers aren’t as important but,” Harry whines, “it’s a wedding.”

“Yes, dear, it’s a wedding. You’ll have flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. When do your mom and Gemma get here?” Niall pet Harry’s head as he started tapping on his keyboard again.

“Tomorrow. They’ve has been working on stuff from home too. Gemma’s been gathering phone numbers of people we’ll need to invite and Mum’s picking out possible flower arrangements, not that it’ll matter if we can’t find those flowers.”

Niall kisses Harry’s head and says, “Pet, relax. It’ll all work out. Even if we have no flowers, and no guests, and no food, we’ll get married and it’ll be the best day of our lives.” Harry looks up at Niall with surprise and horror written on his face. “Of course we’ll have all of those things though,” Niall reassures, backing away before Harry takes a swing at him for his error.

Harry sighs, “I’m sorry. You’re right. None of this matters as much as us getting married. If all that stuff mattered so much, I wouldn’t have said yes to a rush wedding. We’d be having a proper English wedding in the countryside of my hometown with a year to plan it, flying in the best of everything from around the world.”

Niall comes back to Harry’s side and leans his head to rest on Harry’s and says, “love, if that’s what you want, we’ll do it. I don’t want you to regret anything about our wedding.” Niall’s fingers are scratching Harry’s head ideally as he holds his breath, waiting for Harry’s response.

“I want you,” Harry says, looking up into Niall’s eyes. “Nothing else matters, Ni. Our parents, siblings and best friends will be here so I’m not going to argue over the little details. It _will_  be the best day of our lives. I promise.”

The sigh of relief is felt by Harry as Niall stands up to look over the guest list so far. Harry had already added his family with surprising detail. He didn’t even realize Harry knew so many of his aunts, uncles, and cousins. He can’t help the proud smile on his face. He’s definitely making the right choice marrying this man. 

With six days to go, Harry puts Gemma in charge of the venue (getting the tent, floors, heating, tables, and everything else needed for basic setup) while his mother officially takes over flowers, center pieces, table cloths, and general decorations. Deo gets put in charge of an internet wedding invitation with all the details they’ll need to send their guests, while Harry and Niall agree to actually call them all to ensure they get it. Willie gets to work on organizing catering, pending Niall and Harry’s approval. Maura takes on finding places for all of the guests to stay in Ireland, looking for hotel rooms as well as friends and family’s homes. 

Five days to go. Jeff has arrived and is working on clothing options for the grooms and the groomsmen, partnering with Lou Teasdale in London. Ed Sheeran has somehow become the second groomsman for Harry and no one really knows how that happened. They’re pretty sure it was Deo’s idea but Deo insists Harry made the suggestion. Ed has also taken over alcohol preparation. Apparently that’s an important job as he _insisted_  he cover it as well as music. Niall works on the guest list and transportation. He is insistently calling each person to ensure he knows exactly who is coming and to work out flight times and airports. Deo is then working on their transportation once they reach Ireland. Gemma is starting to hate Niall for the suggestion of a tent wedding.

With four days to go, Bobby is released from the hospital and goes back to his home which is now Wedding Planning Central. They’re all starting to think the hospital might have been more relaxing for him but he insists that not only should he be home, but he wants a job. Harry and Niall fight over what to give him. “He needs something important Niall,” Harry insists. “He’s smart and he really wants to be a part of this.” Niall argues, “he just got out of the hospital Harry! He needs something easy like balloons!” “We’re not having balloons at our wedding!” “I didn’t mean _literally_  balloons but something that means about that much!” Eventually, they agree Greg and Bobby can work together on getting an officiant and the paperwork for their wedding license, thought it makes Niall nervous enough to check in fairly regularly on their progress.

“WE DON’T HAVE A CAKE!” Harry yells three days before the wedding. Niall’s head shoots up from his laptop where he’s in the process of booking _more_  flights with wide eyes.

“We _need_  a cake Harry. I think I need a cake more than I need you!” Niall says so seriously Harry frowns.

“I’ll get it!” Anne, Harry’s mom yells, from the kitchen. “I know what you boys like and I was already thinking about it anyway. Don’t worry about it!”

“Thank god,” Niall says under his breath.

“You didn’t mean that, right?” Harry asks Niall.

Niall looks up at Harry and frowns saying, “of course I did.” Harry glares at his fiance so Niall smiles, kisses his hand and goes back to work on the computer.

Harry’s friend Cal is doing the photography and shows up two days before the wedding to review what the men want captured but Harry and Niall both shoo him away and tell him to do what he thinks is best. “I’m not a wedding photographer! I don’t know what’s best!” Cal yells at the retreating grooms backs.

The day before the wedding Niall curses both Harry and himself for deciding to write their own vows. Writing a song to sing for the entire world was easier than writing vows to the man that you love to show just how much he means to you. Most of their friends and family have arrived so Niall is trying to steal minutes away at a time to write the most important moment of his life without someone telling him how much they love Harry or asking “why the heck did you rush us here for this? Couldn’t you give a little warning!” He relied on his parents and Greg to give most of the excuses, slipping away after greeting all of the new arrivals. It’s now 7pm and Niall hasn’t seen Harry all day. He knows Harry has been just as busy as he has been, maybe more since he’s been overseeing everything and everyone, Niall included but they had decided to sleep separately for the night and he didn’t want to go to sleep without seeing his fiance at all that day! 

“Greg! Bobby! Deo! Have you guys seen Harry?” Niall asks the group gathered in the living room who knew the most about the wedding planning. Other family members and friends were floating around but Niall was trying his hardest to ignore them and focus on finding his fiance.

“Heard he’s a bit busy planning a wedding,” Deo says with a smirk.

“Arse,” Niall responds. “Do you know where _specifically_  he is right now?”

“I might,” Bobby says offhandedly with a small shrug.

“Oooook,” Niall draws out, his eyebrows drawing together. “Where?”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m supposed to tell,” Bobby says with a shake of his head. “Sorry,” he says without any remorse.

Niall growls, turns on his heel and heads for the front yard so he can call Harry. Unfortunately, his call goes directly to voicemail. “Harry, pet, love, dear. Where are you? We’re getting married tomorrow. I know you’re aware but I just want to see you. Please call me back. Pick me up. We can go to dinner or just slip away for a quick make out sesh. I love you. Please call me back.” Niall hung up, dejected. He looks back at the house and groans, knowing he has to go back into the circus of his family.

Across town, Harry pleads with Gemma, “please can I have my phone? I just want to tell Niall I’m staying at the hotel for the night. I haven’t seen him all day. He was asleep when I left this morning so I didn’t even get to talk to him then!”

“But you _saw_  him when you woke up so you’re lying about that. You’re getting married to the man tomorrow, Harry. You can go 24 hours without seeing him,” Gemma teased.

“It’s not about being away for 24 hours Gems. We do that all the time. It’s just, we’ve been rushing to prepare for this wedding for the last week and I just want some quiet time with him before we actually, you know, do it. Get married.” Harry can feel his heart racing and he knows holding Niall would calm him down. He’s not doubting the fact that they should get married. He just wants Niall. _Now_.

“I’ll let Niall know you’re staying here. Settle in little brother. You have Ed, Jeff, mum, Robin, dad and I to keep you company for the night. We can invite the cousins around if you want even _more_  people to distract you.”

“No, thanks,” Harry mutters. “I’d better finalize my vows.”

“You’re not done yet?!” Gemma asks, aghast. 

“No! It’s mostly done, I just need to work out a couple details.”

“Try it on me. Let me see if it makes me cry.”

“Nope. It won’t be heard by anyone until tomorrow. You can see if you cry then. For the record, you will,” Harry teases.


	2. Always

Niall wakes up slowly, stretching out, not realizing what day it is. He instinctively reaches out across the small bed to feel Harry but when all he feels is cold sheets, he blinks his eyes open with a frown. Then it dawns on him that it’s his wedding day and he can’t help the smile that takes over his face. He closes his eyes and calculates in his head, about 8 hours until he has a husband. Until _Harry_  is his husband. Unfortunately, there are a few things to do before then. Harry and him were each hosting a morning brunch with their guests in lieu of a rehearsal dinner. The key word being each, which meant Niall wouldn’t see Harry until they were ready to say their vows.

Harry jumped out of his hotel bed early, knowing he still had a lot to do before he could officially _say ‘I do’_  to the love of his life. First thing was confirming with the wedding planner that the catering, flowers, and cake vendors were all on time to deliver. He also needed to verify that the tents were all still standing after being put up the night before. If they fell over, he’d need to get a crew over there immediately to get it righted before everything and everyone begun to arrive for the ceremony.

“Jennifer,” Harry says into his phone. “How are you doing? Is everything on schedule?”

“Harry, dear, everything is fine. I told you I’ll take care of everything today. Please don’t worry about the catering or the flowers or the tents. I’ve got it all covered and if I need help, you gave me a _very_ long list of people I can reach out to. I promise I will if I need it. Today will be perfect,” Jennifer promises.

“OK, OK,” Harry agrees, slightly let down at having his control taken away. This day felt like his baby and he just wanted to see it all the way through but he knew he had family and friends to entertain and he should start on that now. “Thank you, let me know if you need me.”

“Will do Harry. Enjoy your brunch and try to _relax_. I’ll see you later!”

Harry hung up his phone and bit his lip. He really wanted to be at the tents helping to setup. He sighed and went to greet his family. They had taken over a local hotel and there was a brunch setup to go for about six hours to entertain everyone until they could start getting changed for the ‘dressy casual’ wedding. Harry threw on some jeans and a t-shirt before going to meet them.

“HARRY!” his sister yelled as he walked into the hotel ballroom. She came jogging up to him to say, “what are you doing up? I told you to sleep in! You’re going to be up late tonight I’m sure. You don’t want to be worn out!”

“You think I’ll be worn out on my _wedding night_  Gemma?” Harry asks with an eyebrow raise.

“I’m just preparing Harry. That’s what a best person does you know? Figures out how to make the day as seamless and enjoyable as possible for their groom. I mean, the groom they’re besting. Whatever,” Gemma grumbles at Harry’s teasing smile.

“Thanks, Gems,” Harry says sincerely. “You really are my best person. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“I feel like I’m supposed to say I’m surprised by a week’s notice wedding invitation for my son and his best friend,” Des, Harry’s father, starts his speech towards the end of the brunch. “The truth is we all knew they would get married eventually and the fact that it’s at a week’s notice just seems par for course. Keep us all off guard. I kind of thought I’d be invited to a Christmas party or something one day and surprise! It’s a wedding! Honestly, it doesn’t matter when we found out. It doesn’t even matter that he waited two days to tell his father.” Des winks at Harry, a little perturbed at not being told at the same time as Anne, but honestly more happy for his son. “What matters is our boy is making it official. He’s telling the world that all he needs is Niall and I believe that’s true. Niall really is all he needs and I’m so happy for you both.” Des turns to look at his son with watery eyes. He promised himself he wouldn’t cry during this little speech but it feels inevitable now that words are just escaping his mouth without stopping in his brain first. “I know I may not be the best person to offer you advice on how to be a good husband. Or maybe I’m a bit of an expert… either way, just listen to each other. When Niall is upset, even if you think it’s for a dumb reason, _really_ listen to him. What may seem dumb on the surface may have a deeper meaning that you have to dig to discover. Give him the benefit of the doubt _always._ These are two things I’m sure of. I’m sure you have plenty of happily married friends you can get more advice from but if you start there, you won’t say things you don’t mean and you won’t drift too far apart. I love you so much Harry. I want nothing more than for you to be happy in life. You’re doing a great job at it so far so maybe I should be taking advice from you!“ The room laughs politely but Harry’s shy smile is all Des can see. “I love you son.”

While Harry is hugging his dad, tears hidden in his shoulder, Niall is pulling out his suit to get ready. He knows he should probably wait a bit so he doesn’t wrinkle it but he just wants to get on to the next portion of the day. “It’s lovely,” Maura says as Niall holds the suit up for her comment. “Aren’t you going to get your hair done first?”

“I should, yeah but Lou is doing Harry’s hair first and then coming here. I don’t want to wait until the last minute to get ready.”

“It’s still early Niall. Are you feeling nervous?”

Niall hangs the suit back up and sits next to his mother on his bed. He takes a deep breath and bites his lip before lifting his eyes to hers. “I’m more nervous about everything going well today. Like that Harry gets everything he wants. Even though he hasn’t said it, I know this isn’t how he wanted to get married. He would have all of his friends here. We’d be serving fancy food and we’d have some fancy, beach destination. He’s doing this for me because he loves me and I just want it to be as perfect as possible.“

Maura pats her son’s back and asks, “so, you said he didn’t _say_ that, right?”

“He wanted to make me happy,” Niall says softly, petulantly.

“Or he just wants to be married to you, regardless of how it happens,” Maura whispers in her son’s ear. “He _loves_ you and I see it every time he looks at you. So, today _will_ be perfect even if everything technically goes wrong. Even if it’s late. But, we’ll keep that from happening so let’s get you dressed, yeah?” Niall leaned over to hug his little mother close to his chest before getting ready. When he emerged back into his room, dressed as a groom, tears started flowing down Maura’s face. Maura stood up and held her son’s face in her hands. “You’re so grown up. Starting your own family and just, just making me so proud of you in all of your choices Niall. Everyday I’m proud of you.”

Harry is pacing his hotel room, waiting for someone to tell him it’s time to get in the Town car and go to the ceremony. He’s dressed, his hair is done and he’s taken some pre-wedding pictures with his family so he doesn’t have to take additional time away from the reception. “Can you just sit down?” Ed asks, relaxed in a chair with a glass of soda. “Your pacing is making _me_ anxious and I don’t even have to do anything! Anytime I tried to help with something, Gemma took over, telling me I was doing it wrong. I’m just glad she didn’t try to take over the music! We’d be listening to sappy song after sappy song all night!”

Harry laughs at Ed’s complaint and feels a little more calm so he sits down in a chair across from him but still feels the need to ask, “you _did_ plan _some_ sappy songs though, right? I mean, it’s a wedding.”

“Of course mate! I’m King of Sappy. You know that! It just doesn’t need to be _every _song!”__

“Alright Mr. Groom!” Jeff announced as he lets himself into Harry’s hotel room. “Ready to get married?”

Harry jumped up again and started towards the door asking, “is the car here? Because I’m _so_ ready!”

“Yep, let’s head out future Mr. Styles-Horan.”

Niall is doing his own pacing outside of the tent. He arrived before Harry and was chatting with a few of the guests before he decided to give himself a minute alone. It didn’t last long as his brother Greg slapped him on the shoulder, “your bride is here bro!”

Niall stopped his pacing to glare at Greg. “Harry is not a bride Greg. We’re both men so we’re both grooms. Why is that so hard to get?!”

Greg just laughs before saying, “either way. He’s here. Are you ready little brother?”

Niall takes a deep breath and says ,“OK then, let’s go get me married!”

Harry stood at the top of one aisle and he stared anxiously at the top of the other v-shaped lane, waiting for Niall to appear. They had decided to each walk an aisle at the same time, meeting with about a third left to walk together. Even though they had a _discussion_ about it, the traditional Wedding March started playing as soon as Niall took his place. Harry couldn’t help losing his breath momentarily when he saw Niall in his dark grey suit. Although the guests were more casual, the grooms wore full suits for the wedding with the plan to lose the jackets and ties for the reception. Niall had a white shirt and a dark green tie while Harry’s suit was black with a dark blue tie. Niall beamed at Harry as they started their walk to being married. Harry should have been paying attention to the loose carpet instead of his fiancée’s face so he tripped over a snag and almost went face-first, barely saving himself from ending up face down on his wedding aisle. When he looked up with a red face, Harry saw Niall’s concerned smile just as his hand wrapped firmly around Harry’s. “Maybe we do this together?” he asks.

“Yes, please. Always,” Harry answers gratefully. He puts his second hand over Niall’s and they make their way to the front of their family and friends, centered between their attendants.

The officiant welcomes the guests and Niall should be listening to his words, he knows, but he can only focus on the still rosy cheeks in front of him. “OK?” he mouths getting a shy, still embarrassed, smile and nod back. Niall squeezes Harry hands, having not let them fall during their walk. Niall’s ears perk up as he hears “our grooms have decided to write their own vows and Niall will be going first.”

Niall is not sure he’s ever been so nervous in his life. Auditioning for the X-Factor feels like a breeze at this point. He feels pressure to not just put into words how he feels about Harry, but also make it a lasting moment Harry will always cherish. Niall takes a deep breath and says, “I love you. I think, well, I mean, I hope everyone here knows that but it’s something I’m going to say to you everyday for the rest of my life. Whether it’s in person or over the phone or Skype. I will make sure to say it to you so you never forget what you mean to me. That is my first vow. My second vow is to always listen. Your dad pulled me aside the other day,” Niall starts as both he and Harry both look at Des’ bashful smile in the front row. “He told me that listening is the most important thing in a relationship. He even gave me some nice examples of times when we might think we’re listening but we’re not really. I vow to listen to you when you’re upset, or excited, or scared, or just want to be heard. I will always listen to you Harry. Third, I vow to always respect you and your opinions. I know we haven’t come out publicly as a couple for a lot of reasons and I will continue to respect your opinion on that matter as you wish as well as everything else we disagree on. Just so we’re clear, that doesn’t mean I’m going to cave on everything. I let you have the Wedding March so I think I get to win the next _discussion_ we have. Fair, right?”

Harry’s eyes are watering and he nods his head while saying, “only if you’re right love.” Their guests all chuckle at his response.

Niall doesn’t encourage the banter and instead just squeezes Harry’s hand again. “I love you and I could make a long, long list of things I promise to do to and for you but then we’d be here for eternity and I think our friends only came to eat and drink. Just know that I will always do everything in my power to make sure you are happy and taken care of. You are now my top priority in life and I intend to show you every day.” Niall wants to end his vows with a kiss but he knows he’s supposed to hold off so he pauses before thinking _screw it_ and kissing Harry’s cheek quickly. He knows he made the right choice by the glow on Harry’s face.

Harry releases Niall’s hand and his groom frowns at the action. Harry only offers a secret smile as he walks to the edge of the first row of seats to grab a hidden guitar. Niall’s eyes expand at the site and he thinks _‘damn it, he had to go and up my vows by writing a song! Jerk!’_ Harry chuckles as though he could hear Niall’s thoughts and starts strumming.

_The day you said you loved me, was the first time I felt free_   
_That day you swore you loved me, I realized we were meant to be_   
_We’ve had our ups and downs, our challenges and fights_   
_But I’ve never wanted to be anywhere else at night_   
_But with you, but with you. Always with you._

_Today we’re getting married in front of everyone_   
_This song is my vow to love and cherish one_   
_They may see us up front_   
_Professing all our love but they’ll never know the details of it all_   
_The way you stay awake no matter when I’m coming home_   
_The way that I track your flights always on my phone_   
_You mock my cleanses but you’re always prepared_   
_That may not make much sense but I know you’ll understand_

_Because you get me_   
_Because I get you_   
_Because we’re meant to be_   
_And we’ll always be_   
_Yes, we’ll always be and that is my vow to you_

The guests offer a small applause, not sure if it’s appropriate or not. Harry glances at Gemma to see that he was right and her face is covered in tears. He tried to keep the tempo upbeat so people wouldn’t start sobbing but also because this just felt _Niall._ Harry looks back at his groom to see a cheesy smile on his face. He looks proud and a bit giddy before he says ,“and here I thought you were just going to cheat and sing _‘If I Could Fly’._

Harry chuckles and agrees, “yes, that would have been cheating. Plus I had help on that. That little diddy was all me baby.”

“I’m swooning,” Niall says shaking his head. “I love you Styles,” he adds.

“That’s Styles-Horan to you Mr. Styles-Horan.”

“Almost,” the officiant reminds them. “Now it’s time to exchange the rings. The ceremony went by quickly and Harry barely remembers it. He remembers Niall’s vows and that Des had given him a pre-wedding speech and he vaguely remembers Niall’s frown when he dropped his hand to get the guitar. He doesn’t really remember actually singing the song. He’s kind of surprised he didn’t forget any words. But mostly, he remembers the feel of his new wedding band as Niall slid it onto his ring finger. Harry had removed all of his other rings from both hands so it would stand out. The cool metal against his skin was instantly relaxing. The rest was fuzzy and he was glad his cousin taped the ceremony so he could watch it later. Suddenly, Niall and Harry were gathered behind the tent with their families and attendants to take picture after picture. Harry’s favorite picture was their big family picture combining both his and Niall’s family into one. Niall loved the one with Harry flanked by their dads. Des and Bobby were always two of their biggest fans and their faces were just so happy and proud that Niall had it blown up to put in his office so he could be of their strength, wisdom, and love everyday. Cal’s favorite picture was not planned. The families were being gathered for the big photo and Niall took a minute to just _be_ with his new husband. He wrapped his arms around Harry’s neck while Harry’s arms wrapped around his waist, and Niall was nibbling just below his ear, clearly being playful and sickeningly in love. He thought it fit their personalities perfectly.

After the organized picture taking was done, Harry and Niall joined their guests for a meal. They shared one plate as they kept getting interrupted by well wishers who couldn’t wait to see them. Greg offered a toast that didn’t embarrass Niall but offered a splattering of ‘little brothers’ and ‘advice’ he can give since _he’s_ been married for _years_ now. Gemma offered a toast that _did_ embarrass Harry with stories of his interactions with his first girl and boyfriends but also brought tears to everyone’s eyes as she spoke about the first time she realized Harry was in love with Niall. Niall clutched Harry’s hand below the table as he fought to keep his own tears at bay. He’d never heard the story from Gemma before and he wish he’d had a warning so he didn’t need to hear it _here_ in front of _all these people_. There was no bouquet or garter toss since they didn’t have either but there _was_ a first song of ‘ _Little Things’_ performed by Ed Sheeran as his wedding gift. “I wanted to sing ‘ _Thinking Out Loud_ ’ since it’s _the_ most popular wedding song now, not to brag, but this just felt more appropriate for you two. Don’t worry, I’ll sing that one later.” Louis and Liam offer their own original song for the newlyweds telling the guests, “we’ve been working on this one for five years!”

The night is winding down and Harry is dancing with Niall’s little cousin Sarah, her feet on top of his feet and Niall can’t help the strangling, tight feeling in his chest, the one forcing him to cut in. “Sarah, love, can I cut in please?”

“Does that mean you want to dance with me or him?” she asks, her feet still firmly on top of Harry’s leather shoes.

“Well, now, normally,” Niall squats down to her level to say, “it would mean that I might want to dance with him, but in this case, how about we all dance together?”

Sarah’s eyes expand in excitement and she takes one foot off of Harry’s to immediately put in on Niall’s as he moves into the circle. He didn’t love dancing with a little girl on his feet though, so he leaned down to pick her up, holding her between them as they slow danced. “Are you having fun?” Niall asks his cousin.

“Yep, tons,” she says nodding her head enthusiastically. “Oh! Martin is spinning on the floor! Down please!”

Niall turns to see Deo break dancing, laughs at his cousin's antics and then turns back to his new husband. “Alone at last,” Niall whispers in Harry’s ear.

“We’re surrounded by 50 of our closest family and friends. We’re hardly alone, Niall,” Harry comments.

“Well, I have you to myself here, so it’s good enough for now. Did you have fun today pet?” Niall spins them very slowly around the floor, not really paying attention to the dancing and just wanting a little quiet time to revel in his new matrimony.

“Yes, definitely.” Harry’s giant smile confirms his words before he asks, “did you love?”

“Best day of my life I think,” Niall says with a shrug

Harry cocks his head to the side and narrows his eyes, “do you mean that?”

“Course I mean that!” Niall exclaims offended.

“So, not getting through the X-Factor audition, or getting put together as a group, or performing in front of a stadium of adoring fans?”

“I will give you the fact that this may not have happened if those things didn’t happen, but if I had to choose only one, it would be this by a landslide. I’d give it all up for you. This is all I ever need, Harry. _You’re_ all I need Harry.”

“That could have been your vows.”

“Damn it! Those were hard to come up with! I didn’t know I could make it so easy! Who knew writing a song for the world was easier than putting your strongest feelings into words.”

Harry chuckled a bit and then said, “I loved your words babe. Every one of them. You really promise to tell me you love me every day?”

Niall looked into Harry’s eyes for a moment, thoughtful before answering, “I vowed it, didn’t I? Every day husband. I love you Harry.”

“I love you too Niall. Every day for the rest of our lives.”

“You’re supposed to say your life,” Niall argues.

Harry is confused, shakes his head and asks, “what?!”

“You’re supposed to say you’ll love me for the rest of _your_ life so if I die, I know you’ll still love me.”

Harry groans and drops his head on Niall’s shoulder. From it’s perch he obliges his new husband, “I’ll love you for the rest of _my_ life Niall. Forever and always.”

"Always," Niall whispers back as he closes his eyes to just revel in this moment before real life takes hold again.

**Author's Note:**

> So I broke this "part 2" into 2 parts so the wedding itself will be later this week.


End file.
